Spoon makers welcome?

[609wood]

I have been going to the TRF for many years and have seen it change.
Just wondering if a bodger or shoot maker would be welcome to find some quiet corner of the fest and whittle a spoon or two?  I would have no wares for sale and not sell anything I make. My question goes more to the requirement that all "weapons" be peace tied and while a knife with a 1" long blade isn't much of a weapon I don't want to run afoul of the event.

[Rani Zemirah]

You might actually ask someone in one of the skilled crafting/historical demonstration shops/booths if they would like a volunteer to come in and demonstrate the tools, materials, techniques, history and folklore surrounding this sort of craft... and see if they would be willing to provide you with free admission in exchange for 2-3 40 minute sessions for every day you attend Faire.  I'm sure there are vendors from many crafts who would be happy to have this type of arrangement, since it very often draws a crowd, and having a guest demonstrator allows all of the regular full time employees to continue to work uninterrupted. 

I believe that, even as a contractor, (providing a service in someone else's name, i.e; the vendor) you would still be considered an employee of the Faire, and subject to a background check, the same as everyone else out there.  At least, the last I heard they were checking everyone, but it's been a while since we've been able to make it down there, and things change...   

You should still have some time to find someone out there who would like to have you demo for them... but even if you miss the opportunity to get into a booth you might still be able to do SOME work on your spoons while inside the festival... just not with anything sharp.  I don't think anyone could say anything to you at all about sanding/smoothing a piece of wood... or rubbing beeswax into it for a beautiful finish... and when people see someone else doing work they often times will gravitate toward the learning experience without even being conscious of the fact that they are "going to school"...  lol 

[Rani Zemirah]

At some Faires I see many people bringing projects to work on while they sit somewhere... so why shouldn't you do it, also?  The only sticking point (yes, I went there... ) would be the blade, I'm sure.  If you had previously shaped projects in need of final finishing, however... what could anyone say, really?